What is the Full Service eDoc Verification, Validation and Assessment approach and how to avoid invoicing?
In its drive to improve efficiency of mailers mailing processing cycles, in its motivation to lower the overall cost of manual mailing verifications, and in its determination to improve the overall delivery process, tracking, and fixing of bottlenecks in the USPS network through IMb® and IMpb® initiatives, the USPS is using more and more of the BIG Data it implemented as part of the full-service IMb® as well as IMpb addressing and DPV initiatives for parcels through Shipping Services file. The USPS goal is to use the BIG Data to conduct verification, validation, and assessment of commercial mailings.
eDocs (Mail.dat and Mail.XML eDoc messages) for full-service mail is used by the USPS PostalOne!, and SASP systems and Shipping Services file is used for parcels by the USPS eVS and PTR systems to conduct acceptance and verification processes and support tracking, service performance measurement and improve the overall delivery of mail and parcels. The USPS goal is to verify, validate and assess mailings against the eDoc data and sampling done during post-induction driven by historic risk factors tied to you the mailer.
There are several areas that the USPS is tracking for eDoc data quality issues which include full-service, Seamless Acceptance, eInduction, manual verification, entry point (postage, transportation and delivery impacts) and other categories. There are at least two different ways to access these errors and reports. One is through the USPS Micro strategy scorecard reports and the second one is through the Mail.XML solution that removes logging in to Micro strategy reports on business customer gateway and allows mailers to see and manage the information in their own systems such as AIMS TrackingAnalytics™ where they are managing their presorts.
All invoicing errors have preset thresholds; once passed for a calendar month, the USPS will generate an invoice and ask the mailer to pay the assessed penalties.
Method 1: Requires logging into the USPS Micro strategy reports allows you to track your error thresholds. You can log in to the USPS business customer gateway Scorecard report to see the full-service error thresholds, Seamless Acceptance, eInduction, manual verification, entry point.
Method 2: Requires you building or buying Mail.XML based COTS mailing solutions that are tracking and pulling your data quality errors on a daily basis and reporting against the thresholds. You want to be able to manage your errors proactively before it’s too late and you surpass the thresholds. With this approach, you are tracking your data quality issues proactively while managing the rest of your presort data and mailing information.
The important full-service errors at a high-level track
- If copalletization Mail.dat OCI (Original Container information) data or Mail.XML OriginalContainerLinkageCreateRequest message has been provided to allow USPS to figure out pallet to handling unit relationships for verification purposes.
- USPS wants to make sure it can track your trays, sacks, tubs on pallets for verification
- If MID (Mailer ID) provided at the container, handling unit (tray/sack/tub), or piece level is valid
- USPS wants to make sure that the Mail Owner or Preparer data used in the IMcb, IMtb, IMb is correct and valid
- If STID (Service Type IDS) in the IMb match the class, rate, and service information in the eDoc.
- USPS wants to make sure that the piece is paying the correct postage for the service requested
- If BY (Mail Preparer) and FOR (Owner) information provided in the eDocs is correct and for distinct owner and preparer
- USPS wants to make sure that the Mail Owner and Preparer are correctly identified so that USPS can come up with more products, services, incentives driven by who the actual mail owners are
- If the IMb®, IMtb®, IMcb® barcodes are unique within the 5 day period
- USPS wants to make sure that no one deliberately or by mistake is re-using the barcodes, hence raising revenue assurance risks
- If Container postage is correct against the physical entry for induction
- USPS wants to make sure that the drop ship discounts are correctly taken by the mailers
- If Handling unit postage is correct against the physical entry for induction
- USPS wants to make sure that the drop ship discounts are correctly taken by the mailers
Each one of these errors can be tracked using AIMS™ TrackingAnalytics™™ and fixed using AIMS™ MailAssurety™ Mail.dat editor, one of the fastest, simplest, easy to use Data Editing solutions in the market that provides both functional and global editing templates while you can manage palletization for loose sacks and trays through PalletAssurety™, and FAST eInduction processes and reporting through AIMS ShipmentAssurety™. AIMS solutions utilizes mail.dat and Mail.XML software to make it easier for you to be in USPS compliance saves an extensive amount of processing time compared with other products and allow you to track the quality and delivery of your mail.
